Our People
Bríd is recommended as a leading litigator in a number of international directories including
Chambers Global, Chambers Europe, Legal 500 and International Who's Who of Commercial Litigators
Bríd Munnelly “brought a lot of calmness and perspective to a tense situation. She also has a fantastic tactical mind”. Chambers Global 2012
Bríd Munnelly is praised as a "strategically focused lawyer who is proactive in providing solutions".
Dispute Resolution: Chambers Global 2011
Bríd is playing a lead role in Madoff related litigation. Clients say "She is an extremely exact lawyer and stands out for her thoroughness and attention to detail".
Dispute Resolution: Chambers Global and Chambers Europe 2010
Clients appreciate that Bríd Munnelly "doesn't just confirm there's a problem, but brings you a choice of solutions as well".
Chambers Global 2009
Expertise
Bríd Munnelly is Head of the Regulatory and Investigations Team, which she established over ten years ago. There are currently two partners and eight lawyers in total in the Group which is part of the Commercial Litigation and Dispute Resolution Department. Bríd specialises in advising on all aspects of commercial litigation, regulatory enforcement and dispute resolution. She also acts for and against bodies exercising regulatory functions and has been involved in a number of leading judicial review cases.
Bríd acts for a wide range of Irish and international banks and financial institutions and she is currently advising on significant commercial litigation in Ireland arising from the Madoff fraud.
Her practice involves advising on all aspects of the Central Bank’s enforcement powers, including representing clients in the Central Bank’s administrative sanctions procedure. She also advises clients on claims before the Financial Services Ombudsman. Her experience of regulatory investigations and related litigation dates back to the multiple investigations involving National Irish Bank.
Having been involved in many investigations in a range of industries, Bríd advises on white collar crime, corporate offences and minimising exposure to regulatory action including assisting with internal investigations conducted following allegations of fraud or accounting irregularities.
Bríd and her team help bodies with regulatory functions ensure that they act within their powers. She currently advises the Chartered Accountants of Ireland, who regulate accountants and auditors, the Office of the Commission for Public Service Appointments, which acts as a watchdog in relation to public sector appointments and the Courts Service.
Document disclosure is a significant feature in dealing with litigation and regulatory matters and Bríd advises on all aspects of document disclosure obligations such as complying with orders for discovery and inspection, the privilege issues surrounding such disclosure, disclosure to the Revenue, orders for the taking of evidence to assist foreign criminal investigations, disclosures to Tribunals, data protection requests and Freedom of Information related queries. She has been on-site with clients who were subject to dawn raids and has extensive experience of complying with regulatory demands for documents.
Bríd speaks regularly at client seminars to commercial and public sector bodies on litigation risk management, e-discovery and disclosure obligations and managing investigations. She also lectures at the Law Society of Ireland.
Education
Accredited Mediator (The Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution)
Trinity College Dublin, Bachelor in Law (LLB)
College of Law, Guildford, Law Society Finals (LSF)
Solicitor of Supreme Court of England and Wales (non-practising)
Highlights
Bríd has advised:
- currently representing one of the world's largest banks on issues arising out of the Madoff fraud, including Irish Commercial Court cases taken by funds and investors
- recently represented financial institutions before the Central Bank, in administrative sanctions process, and currently advising other financial institutions in the enforcement regime
- advising on a Supreme Court appeal by the Revenue Commissioners of a High Court decision declining to give extra-territorial effect to a disclosure order against an Irish bank
- recently advised an Irish Bank in a recent Commercial Court case which included an examination of the principles around the award of damages
- advising an international construction company on 'class action' type claim and jurisdictional challenge and acted in High Court and Supreme Court challenges to a statutory investigation
- advising an international company on a claim in respect of a vendor's fraudulent inflation of the value of contracts held by the acquired company
- advising a Russian state oil company, in relation to freezing orders that were secured in the Irish High Court in relation to international arbitration awards
- led the team advising National Irish Bank on six separate parallel investigations by the High Court, the Director of Corporate Enforcement, the Comptroller & Auditor General, the Revenue Commissioners, the Financial Regulator and a Government Inquiry by the Public Accounts Committee arising from issues involving tax, mis-selling and overcharging. She advised on the creation of a voluntary settlement process with over 400 customers which was the first of its kind
print this page
